Saint Joseph Catholic Church

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The Roman Martyrology commemorates St. Saturinius (d. 304), a Roman priest and martyr. With his deacon Saint Sisinius, he was sentenced to hard labor, exiled, tortured and beheaded for his faith in the persecutions of Emperor Decius.

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The secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts—the Vatican’s top body for canon law—told reporters in Rome that the Pope has the authority to remove diocesan bishops without a canonical trial.

Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta said that a bishop who is not guilty of any canonical crime may be removed after an “evaluation of communion” with other bishops and with the Holy See.

“There is no official mechanism for the firing of bishops, which can be evaluated by the college of bishops and by the Pope,” the bishop said.

The US Department of Justice has intervened in a legal dispute between an Episcopal church and an Oregon city, defending the church’s right to serve meals to the homeless.

St. Timothy’s Church in Brookings is challenging a city order restricting the meals program to only two days per week. In a court filing the Justice Department sided with the church, saying that the order, by forcing church members to limit their charity, “compels them to violate their religious beliefs to feed those in need.”

Meeting on November 29 with members of Glasgow’s Celtic Football Club, Pope Francis spoke about “the beauty of playing together,” and expressed his concern that financial interests are distracting attention from the beauty of the game.

Because of persistent bronchial problems the Pope’s prepared remarks were read by an aide, but the Pontiff did speak briefly, praising the spirit of amateur competition.

Father Tomaz Gorny, who was accused of stealing over $100,000 from a parish in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, has reached an agreement with prosecutors to accept probation for a lesser charge.

As part of the agreement, Father Gorny said that he is seeking laicization. The Springfield diocese declined to comment on the case except to acknowledge that a “canonical process” is underway.